"RENO, Nev. — A legal battle over the U.S. government’s ongoing capture of thousands of wild horses in Nevada where 31 mustangs have died in a weekslong roundup goes before a judge Wednesday as opponents try to prove it’s illegal and should be stopped.

Federal land managers said in new court filings ahead of the Reno hearing that the deaths among 2,500 horses gathered since July 9 are an unfortunate — but expected — part of necessary efforts to cull the size of large herds.

They said the free-roaming animals pose a threat to the ecological health of public rangeland."

Scott Sonner reports for the Associated Press August 9, 2023. [2]